1. Field of the Invention p This invention relates to an apparatus for the mechanical harvesting of tree fruits. The harvester features an impactor, which removes fruit from the tree limb, a unique system for impactor positioning, a collecting conveyor, an energy-absorbing collection device which catches the fruit as it falls from the tree, a transfer conveyor, which transports the fruit to a revolving bin for collection, and bin-filling mechanisms for the gentle deposit of both large and small fruit.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been a number of approaches to the development of mechanical fruit harvesters. Shaking mechanisms (inertia shakers) have been utilized in xe2x80x9cshake-catchxe2x80x9d scenarios where a device is positioned against a tree trunk and a sufficient force is applied by oscillation or vibration to dislodge the fruits (Peterson, D., U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,179; Chiel and Zehavi, U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,037). In addition, shakers having a spiked-drum configuration have also been described. These mechanisms operate by oscillation of spikes which enter the tree canopy as the harvester moves along a row (Peterson and Kornecki, U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,529). A harvester having spiked oscillating heads has also been described (Daniels, U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,896). While these harvesters have achieved some success in limited applications, currently there are no commercial harvesters of tree fruits capable of harvesting fruit of fresh market quality. Inertia shakers used to effect fruit removal can cause considerable damage during detachment, and catching surfaces and fruit handling components are also not refined enough to handle fruit without damage.
We have designed a mechanical harvester for tree fruits for the fresh market which causes little to no damage to the harvested fruit.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a harvester having novel components which, working together, effectively detach fruit from the tree limb and convey it to a collecting bin attached to the harvester with minimal to no damage to the fruit.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the following description.